1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a multi-bore fluid flow hub for use in hydrocarbon operations, and in particular to an assembly for sealing certain bores of the hub.
2. Brief Description of Related Art
Multi-bore fluid hubs allow a single point of connection to a fluid supply source and multiple points of connection to fluid outlets, and can provide fluid flow control and shut down capabilities. Multi-bore fluid hubs can significantly decrease the number of valves needed to select one of a number of fluid paths, compared to traditional valve configurations required to perform a similar function. Reducing the number of valves decreases maintenance requirements, as well as the footprint and the weight of the required equipment.
In traditional hydraulic fracturing operations using fracturing manifolds, a series of skids are usually included that contain a number of lines and valves that are opened or closed to direct the fluids to the correct well. Certain of these valves will be subject to high pressure fluids in the closed position to block the flow of fluids to a particular well, which has a detrimental effect on the useful life of such valves. The use of a multi-bore fluid hub allows hydraulic fracturing operations to be run in one of the wells in parallel with other operations on the other wells without disconnecting the fracturing equipment.
When one of the hub bores is selected to act as the fluid outlet, unless the other hub bores are sealed, fluids can leak between the components attached to those other hub bores and the multi-bore fluid hub. If no component is attached to one of the other hub bores, fluids can leak between the environment and the multi-bore fluid hub if there is no seal to prevent such leakage.